The UFC’s Florida stop this April has a couple of former strawweight champions throwing down, as Carla Esparza takes on Livia Renata Souza.
UFC Fort Lauderdale (the card that used to be UFC Miami) has a rather interesting battle of former strawweight champions lined up. First reported by Brazil’s Combate, former Invicta FC champ Livia Renata Souza will face former UFC champ and TUF 20 winner Carla Esparza on the card. The show was only recently announced as moving from Miami, and will take place at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida on April 27.
Esparza (13-6) is on the first losing streak of her career at the moment. The ‘Cookie Monster’ is herself a former Invicta FC champion, as well as having held UFC gold as the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champ. However, in her past two outings, she has lost to both Claudia Gadelha and Tatiana Suarez. The latter came via a third-round TKO.
Souza (13-1) has had no such struggles. After losing the Invicta FC title to Angela Hill in 2016, she won twice more in the promotion before jumping to the UFC. She’s won her first two fights on the world’s biggest stage for MMA, defeating Alex Chambers and Sarah Frota, who came in way overweight for their bout at UFC Fortaleza. Despite the disadvantage, Souza earned a split decision victory.
UFC Miami UFC Fort Lauderdale serves as UFC on ESPN 3, and will air on ESPN proper in the U.S., and CTV in Canada.
Update, 4/19/2019 — Due to a change in UFC broadcast plans, UFC Fort Lauderdale will now air on ESPN+. The event is now UFC Fight Night 150/UFC on ESPN+ 8.
